Orange County Child Support Lawyer

Orange County Child Support Attorneys

Cases regarding child support in Orange County can be extremely complex and often require the legal support and guidance of a professional attorney. At Minyard Morris, we understand that you only wish to provide for your child following a divorce or other family law matter and we take the best interests of your child to heart when protecting your parental rights. Let an Orange County child support lawyer from our team fight and advocate for your interests.

Since our inception in 1977,Minyard Morris has been singularly focused on the specialized realm of family law, proudly serving Orange County. Renowned for our relentless dedication to excellence and compassionate advocacy, we have established ourselves as the premier choice for family law services in Orange County. Our firm boasts an impressive team of 20 family law attorneys, who together bring over 350 years of dedicated legal experience to bear on behalf of our Orange County clients. Our lawyers have specialized training in representing clients in child support matters.

Our steadfast commitment has earned us an unparalleled reputation among peers, judicial officers, and the community, marking us as a pillar of reliability and success in the legal profession and the ‘go to’ Orange County family law firm.

What Can Orange County Child Support Cover?

When seeking child support in Orange County, it is essential to know exactly what this support can cover. At Minyard Morris, we understand that success in a child custody case requires more than just legal knowledge and demands action so that you can obtain coverage of certain expenses regarding your children. These expenses can include:

• Insured or uninsured medical expenses of the child.
• Education expenses such as tuition or textbooks for the child.
• The travel or transportation of the child.
• Certain entertainment expenses for the child.
• Potential college tuition and other related expenses.
• After-school activities or the extracurriculars engaged in by the child.

When you work with the team at Minyard Morris, we can help determine exactly what needs to be covered by potential child support and how you can calculate this for your unique situation. These calculations are often complex and require assistance and an attorney’s legal knowledge.

More Than Just A Computer Algorithm

Child support is a complex area of family law and is significantly more involved than simply inputting the incomes of the parties into a computer program and pressing enter. Child support is ordered on a temporary basis and is ordered at the Request For Order (RFO) stage. Post-judgment support is ordered at the trial. Here is an explanation of the process:

• Software programs dictated by the California Legislature generate guideline child support. The computer program generates the guideline child support based on the income of the parties, time share, certain deductions and many other factors. Income includes salary commissions, royalties, rents, government benefits, annuities and vested stock options, among other sources.
• Items such as inheritances, personal injury awards, student loans, life insurance proceeds and capital gains are generally not considered income.
• A family court may order a party to pay for additional expenses referred to as “add-ons” that may be paid in full by one party or divided between the parties in equal or unequal shares. Add-ons may include such things as childcare, activity costs, school costs, travel costs, health insurance premiums and medical costs not paid by insurance. The courts may also order the parties to pay disproportionate shares of health costs.
• A family court cannot order that a parent pay a portion of the guideline child support into an educational trust for the child’s future college tuition.
• A California family court may order a base level of child support and a supplemental payment based on any additional income received over the base salary. This supplemental payment is referred to as an Ostler-Smith payment.

Choosing the Right Orange County Child Support Lawyer

Selecting a family law attorney is a profound decision that significantly influences your future. We urge you to conduct thorough research rather than simply accepting a referral from a friend, co-worker or neighbor. Assess our credentials and client testimonials and compare them to others. The “right” attorney for you should resonate with your unique case needs and personal goals.

If results are crucial to you and your child, due diligence is essential. The outcome of your child custody case is critical to you, and the way your case is presented to the judge may determine the outcome. The objective is not to retain a child support lawyer, it is to retain the “right” child support lawyer for you.

When you choose a child support attorney, you are also selecting a lawyer who should also serve as your trusted advisor to support you through this challenging time.

Ensuring Financial Support for Your Child

Determining the correct dollar amounts for some of the factors that determine guideline child support may be complex. For example, the court may need to calculate a representative period of past earnings to determine the most probable future income for a party, decide how to treat fluctuating income, a job loss, phantom income, business losses, business sales proceeds or payment of principal on a business loans.

Regardless of what the court ultimately awards, the amount of child support is not a permanently fixed amount. It is always modifiable. You may always seek a modification to child support if there has been a material change in circumstances since the date of the last order.

Understanding Child Support Matters Filed in Orange County

Navigating child support is complex and emotionally demanding. Our primary objective is to help you transition from being a client to a former client, through the successful resolution of your case. We place your children’s welfare at the forefront, aiming to secure custody and visitation arrangements that reflect practical solutions and align with your objectives.

Child support is a paramount concern for our Orange County clients. A responsive and detail-oriented collaboration with your attorney, sharing all pertinent facts, is crucial. Withholding negative aspects does not eliminate them. It’s imperative to disclose the good, the bad, and the ugly so that we are fully prepared to address all issues in your child custody matter.

Judges often lean towards 50/50 custody orders. However, presenting facts that demonstrate why such an arrangement is not in the best interest of the child is essential for obtaining a different outcome. Evidence of poor parenting, risky behaviors, or actions that compromise a child’s safety can influence the court’s decision.

Strategic concerns are paramount to maximizing the odds of achieving the desired outcome in a child custody case. Retaining a child support lawyer at the earliest possible opportunity is critical. You need to be advised what type of conduct is helpful or detrimental in the eyes of a judge when presiding over a child support case.

It is critical that the lawyer and the client are partners in child support cases, which makes it critical for a client to understand the playing field and dynamics of child support litigation. Clients need to understand things like a 730 child support evaluation and the pros and cons of engaging in such an evaluation in a case with the specific facts of your case.

A client needs to understand the options when the other party is alienating the child or gatekeeping. It is also imperative, in the right case, to understand the option of monitored or supervised visitation. If there is the possibility of a move by one parent with the child out of the area, that issue needs to be strategized early in the case.

When to Seek Modifications to Existing Child Support Orders

Following a court order for child support, there may arise the need for modification to this order in the future. You can seek this modification either as the custodial parent who is receiving the child support payments or as the non-custodial, paying parent. At Minyard Morris, we have the tools and resources necessary to assist with either side of the modification. The most common reasons child support modifications are sought in Orange County include:

• The loss or gain of new employment.
• A change in income, either in the form of a raise or reduction.
• The diagnosis of an illness or injury, either for the child or for the parents would affect finances in a multitude of ways.
• Changing needs of the child such as healthcare, education, or transportation.

Why Choose Us?

• Experience and Expertise:With nearly five decades of handling thousands of child support cases, our attorneys offer deep expertise and unwavering commitment to each client.
• Reputation and Respect:Our firm’s integrity and dedication to excellence have garnered immense respect within the legal community and among our clients in Orange County.
• Personalized Attention:We ensure that you feel supported and informed at every step, providing compassionate and tailored guidance.
• Community Focus: Deeply embedded in Orange County, and exclusively practicing within its jurisdiction, we are well-versed in local court procedures and practices. When changes occur in the courts, we are among the first to know about them.

FAQs

Q: Do I Need a Lawyer for Child Support?

A: While having an attorney on your side throughout the process of obtaining child support is not required under California law, it can be essential in securing monetary support for your child. An attorney, like the professionals at Minyard Morris, can offer fierce advocacy to help ensure you gain this necessary support and assist you in protecting your interests as a parent.

Q: How Can I Pursue Child Support Modification?

A: In order to seek a modification to an already existing child support order, you can hire an attorney and take your request to court. Once there, you will need to provide evidence that there has been a significant enough change in your life circumstances to warrant this modification. Evidence can include income and expense reports, medical insurance documents, and childcare expense reports.

Q: Who Pays Attorney Fees in Child Custody Cases?

A: In certain cases, especially if you are the lower-earning parent, you may be able to request that the court order your co-parent to pay for the attorney you hire. Before making this order, the judge will consider factors such as your income and the income of your co-parent, your needs and those of your co-parent, and whether one of you has more access to resources necessary to hire an attorney.

Q: How Is the Best Interest of a Child Determined?

A: In California, the courts will take various factors into account when determining what they believe is in the best interests of the child when creating orders for child support or child custody. These factors can include the age, health, and overall well-being of the child, their physical and emotional needs, their emotional ties to each parent, and their ties to their school and the community they currently live in.

Contact Our Caring Child Support Attorneys

Facing a child support matter in Orange County can be a daunting challenge, but you don’t have to do it alone. Let our team of child support advocates guide you with professionalism and empathy. Contact us today to schedule a consultation and embark on your journey to resolution with confidence and peace of mind. You cannot control what your spouse does but you can control who you select to represent you in this matter than can have a long-term impact on your financial and emotional future. We stress the importance and encourage you to compare lawyers and law firms.

Choose the family law firm that Orange County knows and trusts. CallMinyard Morrisat 949-724-1111 or reach out to us online to speak with a member of our team about your situation.